It’s not always easy to find time to shout about all the work we are involved in as councillors, and sometimes the job can be quite opaque to members of the public. To try and help demystify just exactly what the job of a councillor is, I’ve decided to start a monthly blog of activities I’ve been involved with. Whilst this won’t be fully comprehensive, I hope it will give a sense of the sorts of projects I’m working on, and just how varied the work can be.
Transient Visitor Levy (TVL)
This month the council agreed to the implementation of the Transient Visitor Levy (TVL) or ‘Tourist Tax’. TVL has been a long-standing policy of the Scottish Greens and back in 2023 I put forward a motion at Full Council calling for a proportion of the funds collected to be spent on housing. Pleasingly, when the proposals for TVL were agreed this month, £5m (per year) was set aside for this purpose. This is a big win for Greens and campaigners as the proposal to use TVL funds for housing was not even on the table before the motion was heard. Whilst Greens ultimately argued for more money to be spent on housing from TVL funds raised (and were defeated on this point by Conservatives, Liberal Democrat and Labour Councillors), this is still a big win for the city.
Community Grants Fund
Alongside other councillors and community representatives, I am a member of the Community Grants Fund panel in Morningside. The panel allocates funding to a selection of community-based projects within Morningside from Council funds set aside for this purpose. As ever, in January I was very encouraged by the great range of projects that were put forward for consideration and it was a tough job deciding where to award funds. More information about the Community Grants Fund is found here – I hope to see lots more brilliant applications in future rounds of funding.
Local Housing Strategy
Through my work on the council’s Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work committee, I have been meeting with lots of different groups in advance of the publication of the council’s new Local Housing Strategy. This strategy will set out a 5 year plan for housing in the city across all tenures. Already, I’ve been pleased to convince the council to include sections on student need within the strategy, as well as reference to alternative forms of housing such as housing co-operatives and co-housing. A draft of the Local Housing Strategy is now published and will be out for consultation from February to April 2025, with the final strategy completed by May 2025.
Internal audit
Sometimes the role of a councillor can be very internally focused as our job is to scrutinise delivery of council services. The value of being a ‘Green in the room’ in these conversations can easily be seen as Green councillors routinely press for greater attention to be paid to particular issues which are otherwise missed or ignored. A good example of this work is our engagement with the council’s internal audit process. Internal audits are in place to check that the council is operating as it should and adhering to its different policies and duties. This month, I have taken the opportunity to request greater scrutiny on the following areas of council work:
- Nature – I requested that the council undertakes an audit of all work relating to nature in the council. This is an area which has never been audited before and I am hopeful that the audit process will identify areas where the Council could work more constructively across departments – for example, between the council’s Planning, Parks and Greenspace, Housing and Forestry teams.
- Refugees and Asylum Seekers – I recommended that the council undertakes an audit about support services in place for people who have no recourse to public funds. Someone who has no recourse to public funds is not eligible for certain benefits or social housing and as such is much more vulnerable. It’s very important that the council is doing everything it can to support these individuals and protecting their human rights – the internal audit process will help councillors to understand if this is happening.
- Extreme Weather – I have also requested greater detail and clarity with regard to the council’s extreme weather protocol. In the context of the recent Storm Eowyn and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events due to climate change, it’s important that all council services are prepared for this. For example, a protocol does exist to deal with homelessness during periods of extreme cold, but not heat, storms or flooding. By asking questions about this through the internal audit process, I am hopeful that changes to council practice will be secured.
Casework Highlights
As well as work through committee and in the broader council, I also support constituents on a one-to-one basis. I have had a couple of interesting pieces of casework this month which I am continuing to work on:
- Residents got in touch with me to express their concerns with regard to ‘Leonardo’, an Italian arms manufacturer, using Edinburgh City Council land to test communication systems. I have been working with the council’s Estates Team to find out what has been going on and how this use of council land can be brought to a stop.
- A recent proposal to replace grass at James Gillespie’s Primary School with artificial turf raised concerns with a number of constituents. This is of particular concern given the damage that micro-plastics cause to wildlife when washed from turf and into the water system. Whilst I have been unable to stop the specific piece of turf from being installed, I did work with my Green colleague on the council’s education committee, Steve Burgess, to call for a review of materials which are allowed to be used in council playgrounds.
Finally, I wanted to highlight that I hold two councillor surgeries every month for any constituent who wants to come along and discuss any local issues / concerns. These surgeries are held on the first Monday of each month at Kafe Kweer, 5 St Peter’s Buildings (EH3 9PG) and the second Thursday of every month at Morningside Library, 184 Morningside Road (EH10 4PL). Both sessions are drop-in between 4 to 5pm and everyone is welcome.